Anyone an expert on toilets?

Am I an expert on toilets? Close to 50 years of daily experience.

McDonald's, O'Hare Airport and the lIndiana Rest Stops have the worst toilets.

mndsm wrote: So being the resourceful types we are, baby wipes got involved. MAN that is a clean you don't get with a normal piece of tissue. HOWEVER- they don't flush so good.

They make those in a flushable variety and brother, they will change your LIFE.

alex wrote:

mndsm wrote: So being the resourceful types we are, baby wipes got involved. MAN that is a clean you don't get with a normal piece of tissue. HOWEVER- they don't flush so good.

They make those in a flushable variety and brother, they will change your LIFE.

Except that the ones that claim to be flushable really aren't. At least, that's what the plumber said after charging me a large sum of money to deal with clogs in my main drain line that he attributed to them.

codrus wrote:

alex wrote:

mndsm wrote: So being the resourceful types we are, baby wipes got involved. MAN that is a clean you don't get with a normal piece of tissue. HOWEVER- they don't flush so good.

They make those in a flushable variety and brother, they will change your LIFE.

Except that the ones that claim to be flushable really aren't. At least, that's what the plumber said after charging me a large sum of money to deal with clogs in my main drain line that he attributed to them.

QFT, my Mom called me with a sewer emergency. My drain snake couldn't cut through it. 300 bucks later the plumber said there was a clog of baby wipes in the main line. He told me the same thing, even the "flushable" ones aren't really. Of course neither her nor the renter upstairs knows how they got there so who knows what was really going on.

mndsm wrote:

ransom wrote: An excuse to get one of these?

I thought about that, actually. Too bad shipping would take longer than I really have to figure this out.

Well, all he mentioned was "an excuse." Anyway, all I know about is the cock & ball.

mndsm wrote: Ontopic- Just how stupid would I be to fashion some sort of seal on the end of ye olde Shop-Vac professional and try and suck that sumbitch out again? I'd use the Dyson- but I suspect SWMBO would be severely angry at me for ruining the vaccuum suctioning out our toilet.

I use the shop vac all the time for clogs. They work surprisingly well. Sometimes I have to switch between the suction and blower functions. On a toilet I put the hose as far down in the bowl as I can. Then wrap a towel around the hose to provide a seal.

For bathtubs and sinks I plug the overflow with a towel then put the hose directly over the drain.

drsmooth wrote:

mndsm wrote: Ontopic- Just how stupid would I be to fashion some sort of seal on the end of ye olde Shop-Vac professional and try and suck that sumbitch out again? I'd use the Dyson- but I suspect SWMBO would be severely angry at me for ruining the vaccuum suctioning out our toilet.

I use the shop vac all the time for clogs. They work surprisingly well. Sometimes I have to switch between the suction and blower functions. On a toilet I put the hose as far down in the bowl as I can. Then wrap a towel around the hose to provide a seal. For bathtubs and sinks I plug the overflow with a towel then put the hose directly over the drain.

Ditto. I used the Shop-Vac on my tub drain and pulled stuff out from the 70s. Two shampoo bottle tops and and odd piece of plastic. Now the drain flows a massive amount of water.

I'm in the shop vac camp. Disgusting at times, but effective.

I should have added this to my original post... NEVER EVER EVER EVER use DRANO OR ANY SIMILAR PRODUCT, OR BOILING WATER, IN A TOILET... EVER !!!!!!!!!

A short while back something clogged the sewer line between my cleanout and the city's connection. Friday night, 9 pm. Yeah, good luck getting a plumber.

So, I took the cap off the cleanout, drilled a 5/16" hole, then screwed it back on maybe 3 or 4 threads (safety valve reasons which will become clear in a moment) then took the cap off the city's cleanout. Next, I ran the air hose from my compressor out there. stuck the rubber nozzle of the blow gun in my hole and gave it a 3 second shot. Heard a 'whoosh' at the city's cleanout, then the drains worked like nobody's business. I stuck a 5/16" bolt in the hole and put the cleanout cap back on.

drsmooth wrote: I use the shop vac all the time for clogs. They work surprisingly well. Sometimes I have to switch between the suction and blower functions. On a toilet I put the hose as far down in the bowl as I can. Then wrap a towel around the hose to provide a seal. For bathtubs and sinks I plug the overflow with a towel then put the hose directly over the drain.

Genius!!

Curmudgeon wrote: A short while back something clogged the sewer line between my cleanout and the city's connection. Friday night, 9 pm. Yeah, good luck getting a plumber. So, I took the cap off the cleanout, drilled a 5/16" hole, then screwed it back on maybe 3 or 4 threads (safety valve reasons which will become clear in a moment) then took the cap off the city's cleanout. Next, I ran the air hose from my compressor out there. stuck the rubber nozzle of the blow gun in my hole and gave it a 3 second shot. Heard a 'whoosh' at the city's cleanout, then the drains worked like nobody's business. I stuck a 5/16" bolt in the hole and put the cleanout cap back on.

GENIUS!!!

But wait. Why didn't the air pressure go back through the drains of the house instead of pushing the clog down the sewer lines? I don't doubt that it worked, I just think I'm missing some details in my head.

In reply to mndsm :

I can absolutely feel your pain of the nail polish - my little one did almost the same as your boy. And one day he just dropped the [canoe].

Canoe

Was looking at my old posts and since this post got bumped by the canoe.  I re-read the threads contents and must add something I have learned since then. 

If you use the shop vac technique I mentioned earlier, and the drain pipe is made of steel, ensure the pipe is not corroded internally. Short of an inspection camera, you basically can't so if it is really old and made of steel it probably is

I used that technique in one of my apartments last year, the pipe disintegrated when i applied the vacuum. It was a hidden blessing though because it probably wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway but it likely would have developed a far more destructive slow leak. While I was at it i went ahead and replaced all of the rest of my steel drains.

Odd that this shows up. Miss curmudgeon greatly, and now I spend my days telling people how to fix their toilets! 

In reply to Josh :

Fernco makes a toilet seal? Heck YES!!!!

codrus said:

alex wrote:

mndsm wrote: So being the resourceful types we are, baby wipes got involved. MAN that is a clean you don't get with a normal piece of tissue. HOWEVER- they don't flush so good.

They make those in a flushable variety and brother, they will change your LIFE.

Except that the ones that claim to be flushable really aren't. At least, that's what the plumber said after charging me a large sum of money to deal with clogs in my main drain line that he attributed to them.

bidet toilet seats are the way to go. I have them installed on my two toilets and they will change your life

In reply to mndsm :

I have on occasion used these wipes and I would never send them down the drain! Put them in a sealed container and then empty that every few days in the regular garbage.

Also I have found something better than bees wax rings.  They are now selling a plastic ring with an adhesive applied to it. You clean the bottom of the toilet, remove the film from the adhesive and stick in on. The ring extends down into the drain pipe. I've not had one problem with them and you can reuse them, that is your can remove the toilet for whatever reason and then re-install it using the same sealing ring.